From the Philippines to Korea, Prince Aleta's academic journey has taken him across continents. Now pursuing a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering at the University of Houston, he dedicates countless hours to electrochemistry research under Dr. Mim Rahimi. Prince completed his bachelor's in chemical engineering at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines then worked under Dr. Sungpyo Kim at Korea University where he acquired his master’s in environmental engineering.
Under Dr. Rahimi, their team works towards electrifying carbon capture. This means using electricity, ideally from renewable sources, to power the process of capturing and storing CO₂ emissions.
“Our first attempt at trying to retain our carbon emissions was by basically capping power plants that we know produce a large quantity of carbon dioxide. That's the easiest way to reduce our carbon emissions, by capping it and then capturing the carbon height,” he explained. “And the technology is pretty mature, meaning it's been around for a long time, and we have experience using that machine for that technology.”
Rahimi’s team is taking a second attempt, this time developing a new way of carbon capture which is by capturing it from the ocean.
“So, another bad side effect of the increased CO₂ in the atmosphere is that the more CO₂ in the atmosphere, the more CO₂ is being absorbed by the ocean,” Aleta said.
As a natural sink for CO₂, it dissolves in the ocean water to create carbonic acid. As a result, the pH levels decrease causing ocean acidification. One of the earliest signs of the increased CO₂ in the ocean was coral bleaching. Ocean acidification combined with the rising ocean temperatures results in weakened corals making the bleaching effect more severe.
“That is one way to actually remove carbon and at the same time, replenish the ocean's natural alkalinity. If you're removing the CO₂, you can think of it as giving the ocean more capacity to absorb CO₂ and so that's what I'm trying to achieve currently in my research,” Aleta explained.
In 2024, Prince became a UH-Chevron Energy Graduate Fellow, providing him the opportunity to advance his research and to connect with industry professionals at Chevron.
“It's helpful for people in the research field to hear back from people in industry, because although we're very closely linked, there can be a vast difference between what is being researched right now and what is being practiced in the industry,” Aleta said.
In addition to the fellowship, Prince serves as one of the Vice Chairs for the UH Energy Coalition. These student ambassadors work closely with UH Energy to connect students to energy industry professionals. Given Houston’s convenient location, their research team was easily recognized through pitch competitions as their developed technology aligns well with the goal of decarbonization. In 2024, he and his team, ECHO Solutions, won the UH Energy
Chevron Technology Commercialization Competition, earning $25,000 for their research. His team went on to compete in the 2024 EnergyTech University Prize competition held in Austin. Competing against 117 schools nationwide, Team Echo took home a bonus prize of $22,000. Aleta values Chevron's ongoing mentorship, which helps him and the other fellows understand the evolving energy sector and align their research with industry needs.
“We're in the energy capital of the world, a huge industrial presence is here in Houston, so being able connect with them and talk with them about the energy industry has been very enjoyable for me,” he expressed.
Prince credits his experience at UH with providing him the opportunity to grow and connect with fellow energy researchers and experts who inspire him to continue his work.
“I am hopeful that the progress I'm making in my research right now will progress
our understanding of this technology of carbon capture and electrochemical capture
and pave the way for new and potentially better ideas,” Aleta said.